This is a good early effort from Hitchcock. As the title implies, it's full of espionage, international intrigue and hidden motives, and it's very entertaining. A very young John Gielgud is the male lead who becomes embroiled in spy drama at the height of WW1. Madeleine Carroll is the very pretty, very English woman who, at the behest of the mysterious "R", comes along to help the British cause by posing as Gielgud's wife. Peter Lorre is Gielgud's curly haired sidekick "The General" with a ridiculously long name. Robert Young also plays a major role as a young man apparently after the hand of Carroll, yet who turns out to be someone far more sinister.
I enjoyed this film a lot. Hitchcock didn't have much of a budget to work with in this period, yet he creates a lot of suspense with what he has. The film is also very witty, and many moments are played for pure comedy. Gielgud is solid as the male lead, yet unfortunately lacks charisma. He is very much in the stiff upper-lip Brit style, and as a young man he hadn't developed enough as an actor to counteract this. Carroll is simply gorgeous and seems to have just exist rather then act, but her pluckiness is refreshing and she does a good job. Lorre overacts badly as The General. Young actually fares the best of all of them, even if it is confusing as to why this clearly American man is there at all. The film has a number of cool scenes, particularly the murder of a "wrong man" seen through telescope, Carroll and Gielgud in an intimate scene as the loved-up new couple, and the final tense scene aboard the train.
I enjoyed this film a lot. Hitchcock didn't have much of a budget to work with in this period, yet he creates a lot of suspense with what he has. The film is also very witty, and many moments are played for pure comedy. Gielgud is solid as the male lead, yet unfortunately lacks charisma. He is very much in the stiff upper-lip Brit style, and as a young man he hadn't developed enough as an actor to counteract this. Carroll is simply gorgeous and seems to have just exist rather then act, but her pluckiness is refreshing and she does a good job. Lorre overacts badly as The General. Young actually fares the best of all of them, even if it is confusing as to why this clearly American man is there at all. The film has a number of cool scenes, particularly the murder of a "wrong man" seen through telescope, Carroll and Gielgud in an intimate scene as the loved-up new couple, and the final tense scene aboard the train.